Bitcoin News

Weekend Recap: Was Saturday The Most Volatile Day in Crypto-Currency History?

Weekend Recap: Was Saturday The Most Volatile Day in Crypto-Currency History?

​Hard to really describe the last few days and give it any real context, as the entire digital currency industry has never been this large before. Between Bitcoin and Ethereum, earlier this month, they both combined for over in market cap value. This ain’t 2013 anymore. When these markets move, millions more people are affected today than anything that happened before. Let’s try to summarize what may go down as the most volatile day in crypto-currency history

Oh, what a night!

Friday was pretty wild. news hit the wires that many of the top exchanges believe enough in the hard fork odds that they have created an official contingency plan that will make Bitcoin Unlimited an altcoin under the name BTU. This is not what Bitcoin Unlimited supporters wanted, not usurping the Bitcoin chain, itself. They also heard that these companies want some code security upgrades as well.

“Consequently, we insist that the Bitcoin Unlimited community (or any other consensus breaking implementation) build in strong two-way replay protection,” the plan stated. “Failure to do so will impede our ability to preserve BTU for customers and will either delay or outright preclude the listing of BTU.”

The preliminary words are these kinds of upgrades are not in the offing. This press release caused a cascade effect of panic selling in the market, fearing a fork was closer than previously believed. Bitcoin lost over 10% on Friday and dropped well below $1000 on Saturday. Bitcoin fell so far, in the neighborhood of 30% over those 48 hours, that it dropped to 2016 levels, and gave back all of 2017’s market gains.

This news certainly didn’t hurt altcoins like Dash, which seems to have become the friendly neighborhood digital safe haven for wayward Bitcoin investors, trying to get out of the rain. As Bitcoin dropped 10-15%, Dash would dash right along, gaining 10-15% at the same time. In so doing, Dash reached new all-time records in unit price ($120+ USD) and market cap value (passing $860 Million USD) on Saturday, according to CoinMarketCap.

Ethereum didn’t do too badly either. On Friday, ETH passed $55, easily an alltime high (it started 2017 trading for less than $8 USD) and it’s market cap just missed $5 Billion. In a turbulent weekend, it then dropped down over 40% to$32 before bouncing back on Sunday to land in the mid-$40’s.

To sum up, Saturday may have been the most volatile day in crypto-currency histiry, when you factor in the sheer number of people affected and the amrket value lost in just one day. Bitcoin lost almost $2.5 Billion in value on Saturday alone. Ethereum, lost more than $2 Billion, between Friday’s high and Saturday’s low. $4.5 Billion is a lot of value lost in 24 hours, but these currencies have never been worth so much before.

Don’t Call it a Comeback!

After all of this turmoil and angst, after all the rumors and innuendo, after many thought Bitcoin might head into the abyss, Bitcoin reminded us all that Bitcoin never dies. The Bitcoin obituaries are always wrong. It is “The Honey Badger of Money.” Yesterday, Bitcoin jumped back over $1000, with ease, passing $1060, at one point. The storm seems to have passed.

Now that Bitcoin Unlimited’s bid seems to be on the ropes, and not going as they initially planned, is this contingent restrategizing for a new approach? Do they believe enough in their cause to go the altcoin route? They do not seem interested in adding the upgrades exchanges need to deal with them from an operational standpoint. Did this catch them with their pants down? Are they really working in the best interests of Bitcoin, or just themselves? Will they abandon the fork idea altogether? Stay tuned.

Author : Evander Smart

Evander Smart worked for many years as a Wall Street banker, and has learned how the economy is self-destructing from the inside. His travels, experience and research have led him to Bitcoin as the best way forward for the common man. He looks to spread the word on how Bitcoin can help anyone break the shackles of economic slavery being created by global establishment forces. Evander gets you thinking about what money really is, and how it will work for you going forward. The world of finance is getting ready for incredible changes, and he is getting ready for what's coming next. Are you? Learn more about "The Future of Money" @ Bitcoin Video University